NHL Preview Roundup: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers vs Florida Panthers
Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning (7:30 p.m. ET)
The Tampa Bay Lightning has responded well after losing seven games in a row. The Lightning have now gone on a three game winning streak and will likely make it fourth when they face the worst team of the National Hockey League (NHL) on Tuesday.
Even though Tampa Bay is facing its own problems with a string of poor performances at the start of the season they can feel pretty confident of making it four wins in a row over Columbus.
The Blue Jackets have won just three out of their past ten games and are currently on a three game losing streak with the team looking shorn of any confidence and who can blame them with a 13-29-6 record.
It is always good for the struggling teams to regain some of the momentum if their fixture is against the Blue Jackets and on Tuesday all signs point to a Tampa Bay victory.
The Lightning are the third worst side in the Eastern Conference with a 20-23-4 record but have started gaining some momentum and with the All-Star break coming up after this game the Lightning can have some of their injured players back.
"It's the most injuries we've had since I've been here, by far," Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. "It's extremely taxing, but what's good is that the break is coming so we've got one more game where we can just give everything we've got."
The Blue Jackets will not provide much of a threat to Tampa Bay and even the injury ravaged Lightning has a better chance of overcoming a poor Columbus side.
Philadelphia Flyers at Florida Panthers (7:30 p.m. ET)
The Philadelphia Flyers played out an epic match against the Boston Bruins on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 but unluckily lost out with a 6-5 shootout defeat.
They will look to regain the initiative on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers to get a positive end to an inconsistent January.
The Flyers are 6-5 in January as they win a game and lose the next encounter but will hope to end their hoodoo against the Panthers who have lost their past three encounters with the Flyers.
Philadelphia is currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 28-14-5 record and 61 points, three behind the Conference leaders New York Rangers.
The Panthers meanwhile finally ended a losing run of four games with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, January 21st but will face a much tougher test against the Flyers.
Their three straight losses against the Flyers will not do much to boost confidence against the Flyers who remain the favourites to win but games are not won on paper and the Panthers could surprise the visitors.
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